Shattered Thoughts
by narraki
Summary: Kagome is kidnapped by a demon who is determined to make her his bride. Slowly, a spell erases Kagome's memories, until she won't be able to remember anyone. Inuyashatachi must find Kagome before it's too late.
1. October

Kagome sighed as the autumn breeze caressed her cheeks. She loved fall; the weather was usually so nice. She shifted in the tree branch she was sitting on. Usually it was Inuyasha's thing to sit in a tree, but the weather was nice. She gazed at the golden-brown leaves of the feudal era. 

I think it's October...hmm...reminds me of that song I heard the girls at my class play. It was by an American band...Evanescence, I think. I couldn't understand the words for the song "October", but the guitar music was nice at least...Kagome thought to herself.

She slowly closed her eyes, and breathed in the fresh October air and she quietly hummed the song. Then she dozed off slightly, but was awoken when the tree branch shook. Her eyes snapped open and looked at the intruder. It was Inuyasha of course.

"Hey Kagome. Whatcha doing in a tree?" He asked almost innocently.

"Oh, I was trying to sleep", Kagome yawned. Inuyasha just stared at her. "What?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Inuyasha shook his head. Kagome just shrugged and closed her eyes again. Even though she liked Inuyasha, she felt strangely exhausted.

Then her eyes opened slowly, and gasped. Inuyasha was really close to her face, like he was about to kiss her.

"KYA!!! Inuayasha, what are you doing!?" She screamed.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it," Inuyasha backed away and looked down. Kagome felt a little guilty. It's not that she didn't want him to kiss her, it just surprised her.

To make up for that, she inched closer to the half-demon. She slid right next to him. When he looked up at her, she closed her eyes, and he did the same. Their lips got closer, and closer...very slowly...almost there...

"Inuyasha! Kagome!" Miroku cried. Kagome and Inuyasha instantly pulled away to avoid embarrassment.

Damn that monk! I was so close to kissing Kagome! Inuyasha angrily thought.

My cheeks feel really hot...I wonder if Miroku was spying on us...wouldn't be surprised if he was, Kagome reflected.

"What is it?" Inuyasha growled.

"There"s a demon in the area. I think we should stop him from attacking the nearby village. But if you don"t want to help out, that's okay," Miroku said sarcastically with a fake shrug. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. He jumped out of the tree, and would've helped Kagome, but she wanted to climb out. Then they raced off to the village where Sango, Kirara, and Shippo were waiting for assistance.


	2. Captured

"What took you so long!?" Shippo whined as he slowly crept out from behind Kirara where he was hiding.

"Uh…sorry about that…" Kagome replied, hiding her blush as she grabbed her arrows and quiver that Shippo had been holding for her.

"So where's this demon that we have to destroy?" Inuyasha remarked annoyingly. He looked around. He couldn't see the demon, but he could smell it, that's for sure.

"This demon has a strange ability of disappearing," Sango explained.

"Well…what does it look like?" Inuyasha asked.

"It looks like a man with long, silver hair, pointy ears, and blue eyes," Sango answered.

"Are you sure he's an evil demon?" Kagome asked. Sango nodded.

"He already attacked and killed some men and women. I feel obligated to destroy him. Do you sense a jewel shard?" Sango asked Kagome.

"Yes actually."

"Good. So at least we aren't wasting our time," Inuyasha growled, as he drew his sword. Suddenly he smelled the scent of the demon very close…to Kagome…?

"KAGOME LOOK OUT!" Inuyasha cried. Kagome turned around and screamed as she saw the demon behind her. He was very handsome. He wore blue clothing, and he was dressed like a nobleman. Kagome tried to pull an arrow out of her quiver, but before she could, the demon struck her across the cheek, sending her flying. She unconsciously landed roughly on the ground 50 feet from Inuyasha.

"DAMN!" Inuyasha yelled. He charged head-on at the demon with his sword. The demon simply smirked, drew his own katana, and blocked Inuyasha's attack effortlessly. Sango threw her Hirakotsu, and almost struck the demon, if the demon hadn't disappeared. Meanwhile Miroku looked for Kagome where she had landed, but couldn't find her.

"Inuyasha…?" Miroku said quietly.

"Not now! I'm trying to fight a demon," Inuyasha growled.

"Inuyasha, I think the demon is gone. And I think he took Kagome with him…" Miroku announced.

"W-what!?" Inuyasha stuttered.

Meanwhile, the demon ran gracefully through a forest miles away from the village he terrorized, carrying Kaogme over his shoulder.

"We're almost there, girl," he said to the still unconscious Kagome. A few hours later, he stopped at a large palace, surrounded by a strange demonic aura. He walked through the palace gates, and instead of walking into the palace, he walked into the courtyard. The courtyard was very vast, as large as several acres. It has beautiful green grass and large rose bushes that boasted gorgeous red roses. He walked one or two miles into the courtyard, and stopped at a small building. The building was built in the same style as the palace, and it can be easily inferred that it's apart of the palace. He walked into the building, which looked like a small but beautiful house. He set Kagome down against the wall, causing her to slump into a sitting position. He walked to a window on the opposite wall that showed a beautiful view of the roses and trees. Realizing she wouldn't wake up for a while, he walked over to the wall that she sat at and opened a door. He looked inside what looked like a bedroom, and checked to  
make sure things were properly organized for the house's guest. He walked back into the main room when he heard Kagome groan.

"W-where…am I…?" Kagome asked.

"You're home," the demon replied, tossing his silver hair over his shoulder. Kagome's eyes snapped open and she looked around frantically.

"This isn't my home!" Kagome yelled.

"It will be. And you will be my bride very soon," the demon announced.

"WHAT!? DON'T I GET A SAY IN THIS!? I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR BRIDE! I want to be with my friends…" Kagome said. The demon laughed.

"Let me explain. My father is a powerful demon who's dying. Despite his power, he has a weakness for humans, a weakness I do not share. He told me that in the event of his death he'd only give me his possessions if I married a human. A small price to pay to own everything he does. This building has a spell put on it. In a year, you'll forget everything you used to know. And during that year, I will slowly feed you lies. Lies that will lead you to believe that you are my betrothed. Lies like that. You won't be able to escape for there is an even more powerful spell around this building that prevents you from doing so. You will only be allowed to walk a few yards outside before you run into a force field preventing you from going any further. Servants that are loyal to me will come in everyday giving you supplies you need to live…food, drink, kimonos…you will not be left craving anything. If you need anything tell them what and they'll give it to you. Until then…" The demon bowed. "Oh, and before I leave, my  
name is Yamoto. You won't be inclined to give me your name now, but I guarantee you, you will eventually."

After Yamoto finished his speech, he left the building. Kagome sobbed quietly and bowed her head.

"Inuyasha…where are you…?"


	3. Ink Painting

"Damn…I can't believe I let that bastard take Kagome," Inuyasha growled as he sat in Kaede's hut.

"Oh Inuyasha, you didn't let him take her, it was an accident," MIroku tried to comfort Inuyasha.

"I let my guard down. Who knows what's happening to Kagome?" Inuyasha said. "We have to find her."

"Well…whether we were going to go find her or not isn't really a question. Of course we're going to go rescue her," Shippo said timidly.

"I'll pack some provisons for ye three. I trust this shall be a long journey," Kaede said, then she slowly walked off to pack the provisions.

"It's settled then. We look for Kagome at dawn," Inuyasha ordered. "Till then, we might as well get some sleep." Sango and Miroku sighed. Inuyasha was always making decisions without their concent.

Meanwhile at Yamoto's castle, Kagome sat in a chair by her window, sadly looking out towards the forest. I know Inuyasha will come for me…he'll bring Sango, Miruku…wait no, it's Miroku…and that little fox demon…um…what's his name…? Shinka…? No…um…OH SHIPPO! I can't believe I forgot his name for a moment…Kagome reflected. That's when she started to panic. She was already starting to forget them. Was there anyway she could remember them? Before Kagome could get the epiphany she was waiting for, she was disturbed by a quiet knocking on the door of the building where she was held captive. She went to the door and opened it. There were three servants standing outside with large plates of delicious looking food. Kagome let them inside. The servants put the food on the table that was in the middle of the room about five feet away from the chair Kagome was sitting on, then they turned to her.

"My lady, may there be anything else you desire?" One of the servants asked.

"No…that's all…thank you," Kagome sighed. That's when she got her idea. "Um wait! There is something…I want supplies for ink painting." The servants nodded and left.

Kagome decided that if she would forget her beloved friends, she wouldn't give them up without a fight. She wasn't very talented with ink painting, but with much practice she was determined to make perfect portraits of her friends. She refused to forget her them.

Miles away, in a forest nowhere near Yamoto's castle, Inuyasha and the gang were desperately trying to find Kagome.

"Inuyasha…are you sure you can't find her scent?" Sango asked.

"Shut up! I'm trying," Inuyasha growled.

"It's very possible that the demon who took her covered up her trail," Miroku began.

"Well we better hope he didn't," Sango muttered. Miroku bent down on the ground and picked up something.

"Um…he has," Miroku said, showing Sango and Inuyasha his findings. It was a sutra with a kanji on it that said "disappear". "This is what he used; this sutra erases the trial he made, making him almost impossible to track down."

"DAMMIT!" Inuyasha yelled.

"We won't give up hope Inuyasha. We WILL find Kagome, do you understand?" Sango said, sounding very determined.

"Well, why don't we stop and rest…there has to be a village nearby," Miroku suggested. Everyone else sighed and nodded.

It didn't take long for them to find the village Miroku suggested there might be. The gang ate a nice dinner, and were about to turn in when they heard two old men talking.

"Yes…I hear he recently kidnapped a human girl and took her to his castle," one of the old men said.

"Oh did you now?" the other one asked. Inuyasha ran up to the first one and grabbed him violently by the shoulders.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!? WHERE IS THIS DEMON AND HUMAN GIRL!?" Inuyasha yelled.

"Uh um it's the palace just one mile north of here," the poor old man stuttered. Inuyasha turned to everyone else.

"You heard him! Let's go!" Inuyasha ordered. The others nodded and they walked off to the palace the old man told them about.


	4. Mistake

Inuyasha and everyone ran straight into the palace. It was a little small to be considered a palace…it had a porch that over looked a garden with a pond and cherry trees, maybe 5 bedrooms, but not nearly enough to be considered a palace. Inuyasha was walking on the porch when he saw a girl. The girl's back was facing him, but he knew it was Kagome. He ran up to her.

"KAGOME!" He said. He turned the girl around, but…it wasn't Kagome. The girl blinked.

"My name isn't Kagome. My name is Natsui. Are you perhaps more demon exterminators my father sent? If so, tell him I'm happy here and I don't want to go back home!" Natsui ordered. Inuyasha looked down and sighed.

"Wrong place…" He muttered. Sango went up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. We'll find her," She reassured. They left the palace to go back to the inn where they were staying.

In that small building, miles away, Kagome sat on the floor, practicing her ink painting.

I'm getting better at this…let's see…Miroku had a giant boomerang for his weapon…wait no, that was Sango…Miroku had that staff and a hole in his hand…Shippo had a sword…or was that Inuyasha? Oh that's right, it was Inuyasha…Kagome thought as she practiced painting the weapons of her friends. She jumped slightly when a soft knock on her door startled her.

"Come in," Kagome said, not looking up from her ink paintings. The door opened, and Yamoto walked in. Kagome blinked.

"Oh…Yamana…I mean, Yamoto. May I help you with something?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing at all. I was merely checking up on you," Yamoto said with a smile. "So how are your memories?" Kagome glared.

"I don't understand why I'm forgetting you. If you want me to marry you wouldn't you have me forget everything BUT you?" Kagome asked.

"Not exactly. You see…" Yamoto pulled up a chair and sat down. "You hate me right now. I can't have my wife hating me. But I'll tell you my plans. The time between my visits will lengthen, giving you time to forget me. Eventually, when you've forgotten me entirely, I'll visit you more often, and I'll keep telling you we're to be married. By the end of the year when your memories have been completely erased, you'll truly believe this, and you'll marry me without question." Kagome frowned.

"But why me? Why couldn't you have picked a girl who'd be eager to marry a demon?" Kagome asked.

"Simple. Because that would take too long. You were right there and just begging to be kidnapped," Yamoto sighed. "Well my dear, it's time for you to go to bed. I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Good night," Kagome said almost happily. Why did I say that happily? Wait…why wouldn't I say that happily? Oh right, that's because he kidnapped me and is erasing my memories! Kagome mused. As Yamoto left, he laughed, because he knew right now Kagome was confused about her feelings towards him.

The next morning Inuyasha woke the others as soon as he woke.

"Damn Inuyasha…Can't you give us a little more time to sleep?" Miroku asked groggily.

"No. Every minute wasted we get another minute closer to Kagome being killed. Now get up!" Inuyasha ordered.

"Inuyasha that hardly even made sense…" Miroku stretched and yawned. In half an hour everyone was up and ready to go, although still slightly sleepy. Kagome's morning however, was different…

She woke up at her own pace, which was about 9:00 am. She got up, stretched, and put on the blue kimono Yamoto gave to her as a gift. He really is good to me…He hasn't hurt me at all, and he makes sure I lack nothing. Wait…didn't he cast a spell on me, or am I thinking about a book? No I'm sure he put a spell on me…She reflected. That's when she realized the spell was working; she was starting to forget. She frantically ran to the main room of her house and pulled out a large sheet of clean white paper.

I need to finish these drawings before I forget them entirely, Kagome thought. She took out her brush and ink, and started painting. She decided to paint Shippo first, since he was the smallest and most likely easiest. Kagome rolled up her sleeves and painted him the best she could.

Nowhere near to Kagome, Inuyasha walked through a forest. He stopped and picked up something peculiar on the ground. It was a picture of Kagome…she was smiling while messing up Sota's hair. He laughed quietly to himself. Then his eyes widened when he realized what he just discovered.

"Miroku! Sango! I think we're going in the right direction!" Inuyasha announced. He was quickly joined by the others.

"Yes at least we know that where we are standing, we are going on the same path that demon took. But the question is…from here, which way do we go?" Miroku logically asked. Inuyasha growled at Miroku for dampening his spirits.

"Um…I'd suggest going this way…" Sango pointed north.

"Why is that?" Miroku asked.

"Because a good majority of the branches in the trees are broken, as if someone has journeyed through here," Sango explained. Immediately Inuyasha set off north.

"Don't worry Kagome, I'm coming for you," he said.


	5. Mislead

A month had passed already, but Kagome finally finished perfect ink portraits of her beloved friends. The paintings kept her memories alive. Just by staring at the pictures, she was able to remember her thoughts and feelings for each character. Shippo, the young fox demon who was much like her son...Sango, the one female she can truly confide in, Miroku, the perverted yet caring monk, and Inuyasha...the hot-headed half-demon whom she had feelings for...yes, she knew the characters well. 

But that's what disturbed her. She knew who the characters were, but did she know who the characters were to her? Frustrated, she ran her fingers through her hair and groaned. Maybe this idea wasn't as great as she thought it would be.

Back with Inuyasha and the group, they continued traveling for all those months, following the trail of broken branches. They had been traveling for so long, they ceased to notice that the trail had ended. Finally Shippo piped up.

"Hey um...where are those broken branches we were following...?" he asked meekly. Finally alert, Inuyasha looked around. Cursing, he slammed his fist into a tree so hard, it left a mark on the trunk and his hand.

"It was all a joke...this bastard is playing games with us!" Inuyasha growled.

"Now we're months away from the trail...how will we ever get back?" Sango asked quietly and sadly.

"We must not lose hope now," Miroku said, trying to raise the morale. Inuyasha clenched his teeth together.

"Sango, I want you and Kirara to journey back the way we came as fast as you can. I want you to survey the land and see if you find any sign of the palace we're looking for. We'll follow behind on foot," Inuyasha ordered. Sango nodded, and as soon as she did so, Kirara transformed. Sango jumped on Kirara's back and took off. Miroku stared off at her, slightly sadness reflecting in his eyes. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, and the group journeyed in the opposite way they were traveling.

Kagome heard a soft knock on her door. These came three times a day, because they were servants delivering meals. They'd come more often than three if Kagome requested something special. Except she hadn't requested anything...and she already had dinner. She opened the door, and stared into Yamoto's cold, blue eyes.

"What do you want," she replied shortly. Yamoto smirked.

"That's not anyway to speak to your betrothed, my dear," he said with a joking tone. Kagome felt obligated to bow, so she did.

"Forgive me," she said quietly. "Wait, why should I ask you for forgiveness? I hate you!" she yelled. Yamoto's smirk turned into a slightly sinister and cold smile.

"True, but do you remember why?" Yamoto asked. Kagome bit her bottom lip. She could not recall, try as she may. Yamoto knew this just by the look in her eyes, and laughed.

"Come my dear, you've been in this building far too long. Let us take a walk," he suggested suavely, offering Kagome his arm. She slowly and reluctantly wrapped her arm around his, but felt no negative emotions when she did so. He led her slowly into the courtyard that she was only allowed to admire from a specific distance.

"I've been watching you," Yamoto announced. Kagome gasped quietly, afraid of what would happen.

"I understand you are still trying to cling to the last remaining fragments of your memories, and are just now realizing your efforts are proving to be futile," he explained. Kagome turned away, ashamed that he knew so much.

"How long have you been watching me?" Kagome asked in a demanding tone. Yamoto answered her with warm laughter.

"Long enough. And fret not, my dear. I do not observe you while you change or bathe, despite temptations," he said with a joking tone, and laughing again when Kagome's cheeks turned red.

"You know not of your feelings for your friends...You don't even remembered if you loved one of them as more than a friend," Yamoto said, clearly referring to Inuyasha. Kagome looked down and nodded, for this was true.

"And due to these circumstances..." Yamoto began, plucking a rose from a bush and handing it to Kagome. "I must ask you a question." Kagome carefully took the rose, being cautious of the thorns. She stared at him suspiciously.

"And what question might that be?" she asked slowly. Her eyes widened as Yamoto got on bended knee and took Kagome's hand.

"Will you marry me?" he asked. Kagome was completely shocked. Her feelings of hatred were at once forgotten and were replaced with feelings of surprise.

"Um...I don't know...this is all very sudden..." Kagome said with a shy smile. Then the feelings of hatred returned to her faster than a speeding bullet. She pulled her hand out of Yamoto's. "No! I will not marry you! You're trying to trick me! You kidnapped me and are trying to erase my memories of my friends and loved ones! I don't love you! I love Inuyasha!" Kagome stopped for air. She was overjoyed. She still remembered...she hadn't completely forgotten.

"Is that so..." Yamoto said with a very cold voice. He stood up and slapped Kagome on the cheek, then took her by her arm violently and dragged her to her small house.

"You haven't been in captivity long enough I suppose if you still remember your lover," he said, pushing Kagome inside. "A few months should do..." he slammed and locked the door, ignoring Kagome's tears. He stomped outside of the magical shield around the area, and started chanting. The shield glowed a soft pink, then faded.

"Strengthening the spell of memory loss should help speed things up a bit," Yamoto laughed coldly then walked off to the main palace.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Kagome was crying. She didn't know Yamoto had strengthened the memory loss spell, but once he did, Kagome felt overwhelmed with an excruciating headache. Standing up, she stumbled to her bedroom. She threw herself on the bed, where the combination of a painful headache and crying lured her into a deep sleep.


End file.
